Power of Possibility

Hookah Lounge Starter for @mutewondergal

    The entirety of Wonderland had been a buzz as of late with the opening of the Caterpillar’s Hookah Lounge a couple days ago. The Heir had okay’d the construction of course, but something about the Caterpillar’s message sent them on edge. “Who are you,” that question was a bit too in context for the country as of late.

     Leaving through a secret entrance and in a disguise, Rory walked towards the Hookah Lounge, but couldn’t find the courage to enter the establishment. They darted to the nearest alley and sat on the ground, their heart beating rapidly.

     Thinking that they were alone, “’Who are you?’ That question is a loaded one Miss Caterpillar…and one that I thought I knew the answer to…”

Minako Arisato. Age nineteen, student of academia and magic, host club entertainer, former leader. All simple answers. All correct, technically, and yet...

I’m so much more, too. I’m a failure of a leader, I can barely handle Sensei’s magic lessons, I do the bare minimum at the host club because I’m so scared, I couldn’t protect the people that mattered when I--

There was a voice, squeaky and false. It startled Minako out of her brooding, and the startling triggered her fight or flight response. She whirled in the noise’s direction and had her Evoker pressed against her temple in the next second, her free hand aiming toward a trashcan lid. She didn’t know she could use that Catapult spell and summon Thanatos at the same time--she hadn’t ever managed the spell again, even with Sensei’s help--but maybe this time she could, and she’d take out whoever was stalking her, and no one would ever be hurt when she could stop it--

Oh, wait, fuck. Not a killer, not at all. Minako blanched upon recognizing the spade shaped mark, and fumbled to shove her Evoker back into its holster at her hip. 

🌻 a worried text.

🐰 a goofy text.

🦋 a loving text.  

🧦 a half-asleep text.

🌳 a happy text.

🍎 an apologetic text.

⚠️ a text meant for someone else.

🕰️ an early morning text.

💫 a late night text.

🗑️ a text that wasn’t sent.

💡 a scared text.

💀 an urgent text.

🥇 a supportive text.

🔪 a hateful text. 

🌊 a sad text.

⚡ an angry text. 

❛on a scale of one to ten… how illegal do you think doing this is?❜

❛okay, but, consider this: i don’t care. i’m gonna do it.❜

❛there are certain moments where i consider you someone with brilliant ideas and a good future. this is not one of those moments.❜

❛how hard is it to do a wheelie on a motorcycle? how many feet can you go, doing a wheelie, without crashing?❜

❛it’s three in the morning and i’m bored and you’re the only one awake. let’s break into a gas station store.❜

❛WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT FILL UP A “SUPER BIG GULP” CUP WITH 5 HOUR ENERGY AND CHUG THE WHOLE THING. MY HEART HAS EITHER STOPPED COMPLETELY OR IS BEATING SO FAST THAT I CAN’T FEEL MY OWN PULSE.❜

❛is it a bad idea to use mountain dew instead of milk in your cereal?❜

❛i heard if you suck up enough helium, your voice starts to sound really squeaky… wanna go buy some balloons?❜

❛can you cook bacon with a hair straightener? asking for a friend.❜

❛yes, i did beat him up and i will not apologize.❜

❛complaining helps the situation, like, not at all.❜

    The flurry of signing was almost too much for Caleb to handle if he weren’t already well acquainted with Minako and her need of sign language, but since it’s been a while since he’s last been in Wonderland, he needed a couple moments to fully translate the motions into Common and then a couple more moments to fully process the knowledge dump that his student had just given him.

    “The Cheshire Cat has been…’nerfed’ by the Mirror? The Mirror is sentient? I do not remember if that was a possibility during my last visit here.”

     Caleb had to stop his musings over the Mirror to properly react to the very first thing that Minako had mentioned, “That is certainly strange that the spell stopped working…but it does make my heart filled with joy that you continued your training while I was not here,” a small smile formed on Caleb’s face he finished the praise.

    Chuckling softly as he rubbed his slightly stubbly chin, “Yes, much has happened since the last time I was here, Minako, and it does seem we have some catching up to do.”

     The mention of the little brother also dawned on him, “A little brother? You did not mention him the last time I was here; is it a good thing that you found him again?”

She puffed up beneath the weight of his praise, feeling a weight lifting free from her shoulders. It hadn’t really occurred to her how deeply the failure of magic had been pressing down on her; like many pains that didn’t break her, they remained far off and forgotten. 

(How long could she keep it up, though? Minako didn’t like wondering that, so she buried it.)

‘Oh uh basically the Chesire got a big demotion or something. Showed up with his ass kicked and spooked us real good; haven’t seen him in a while, though, so maybe he got re-moted? Hm.’

As Sensei probed her curiously at the mention of Minato, Minako felt her smile freeze in place. The instinct to deflect it with a not-quite-lie was tingling so strong that her hands and fingers were raised and poised. But she stilled herself. 

This was the same man who’d taken her on as a student despite her lack of a voice. Who believed in her like Shouchi often did. He deserved the truth as she knew it, right? Even...if it hurt to think about it. 

‘That’s a long...story. The short of it is that I thought he died in an accident with my parents. Our parents, I mean.’ She wasn’t sure Wizard Men knew anything about cars, so she edited that information as cleanly as she could. ‘But he’s here in Wonderland, same age as I am. We’re twins; his name’s Minato. So somehow my world’s ruling system just...lost him for a little while. But I found him again and everything’s great!!’ 

She shoved one hand down to her side to hide the shaking as she leaned in suspiciously. 

*dips and kisses you*

*hands you an ice cream cone*

*pokes your cheek*

*turns off the lights*

*spills coffee on your lap*

*throws ball at you*

*hands you a bouquet of flowers*

*drops a sandwich in your lap*

*boops your nose*

*hands you a kitten*

*hits you over the head with a book*

*pats your head*

*runs right into you*

*hands you a puppy*

*pours a bucket of water on the floor*

*slams door in your face*

*hands you a gun*

*tosses video game controller at you*

*puts tiara on your head*

*splashes water on your face*

*throws glitter on you*

*hands you a hamster*

*pushes you into a lake*

*ties a bowtie in your hair*

*pushes you against the wall*

*offers you a doughnut*

*puts hand over your mouth*

*smacks you with a shoe*

   The relief that cascaded over Shouko was almost instant when her gaze focused on her best friend’s face. It was like she had released the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding, like her body could talk itself just a little further off the edge she was teetering on. Gently, as if she were afraid she would drop it, Shouko took the cool can in her hands. 

   She tried not to focus on her hands too much. She’d washed them, scrubbed them as much as she could, but beneath her fingernails and in the dips between her fingers she knew there was still blood. Even worse, she knew who it belonged to, and her stomach lurched in protest. 

   Don’t think too much, Shouko. Don’t think.

   The eighteen year old did her best to offer a soft smile, though it came off much more weak and worn than she had probably meant for it to. ‘Thank you, Miko,’ She signed, and cracked open the can – though she didn’t make any motion to sip from it. Not yet. Instead, she felt the way it fizzed from the outside of the tin and tried to focus on it. Tried to focus on anything else. ‘That’s okay,’ She waved it off. ‘I’m not hungry. Have you eaten, though?’

   Shouko’s body tensed momentarily from the touch, even though she had been expecting and open to it. But just as easily as she had done so, the girl relaxed into her best friend’s side, breathing in her scent and the calmness it provided. ‘It’s okay,’ She replied, because it was, at least for now. The ache was there but it was dull enough to ignore. Shaking her head, Shouko lifted her fingers to Minako’s line of sight. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Course I’m okay. You see tears on this gorgeous mug?’

Indeed, aside from signs of sweating--from a panicked bike ride to the clinic--Minako looked only a little ruffled. No tear tracks or smeared make up or reddened eyes. She carefully rubbed circles onto Shouko’s back, letting out a sigh of relief that the other girl would be able to feel. 

‘Little rattled, I’ll admit,’ Minako signed back, ‘but they say he’s stable and that it could have been way, way worse. So, I’m gonna trust the professionals. Plus, they kicked me out anyway, so--’

Whoops! Maybe a scooch too much information! Minako smiled and waved it off.